Automatic fire and burglar alarm.



L. A. MEYERS. AUTOMATIC FIRE AND BURGLAH ALARM.

APPLICATION FILED APR, 26v 1519, mamw.

Patented Jan. 13. 1914'.

1 VthlGJJQQ guvcnfoz j M4! M -K @Hozncu I TELEPHONE L. A. M'EYEHS. AUTOMATIC FIRE AND BUHGLAH ALARM,

APPLICATION FILM) ANL 20. 1S1l&

Patented Jan. 13, 1914.

- 1 $3 3M Ti 4 SHEETS- SHEET i3.

L. A. MEYERS. AUTOMATIC FIRE AND BURGLAR ALARM.

W APPLICATION FILED APR. 26, 1013. LQBQIQ UU Patented Jam. 13. 1914 4 SiIEETS--SHBET 3.

am ne/1 L. A. MEYERS. AUTOMATIC FIRE AND BUHGLAR ALARM.

APPLICATION FILED APR.26.1918.

Patenfid Jan. 13, 1914.

i SHEETS'SH'BET.

LOUIS A. IVIEYELES, 0ft fiAUK CENTER, MINNESOTA.

AUTOMATIC FIRE AMI BURGLAii-t ALARM.

Specification of "Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. ii

Application filed April 26, 1913. Serial No. 763,853.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I, LOUIS A, li'lni'nns, citizen of the United States, residing at Sank Center, in the county of Stearns and State of Minnesota have invented certain new and useful lni 'irovements in Automatic Fire and Burglar Alarms, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to an automatic fire and burglar alarm 'i'orjhotels, apartments olfice buildings and the like. and has for its object to provide a device of this character which embodies novel features of construction whereby the usual telephone circuits and telephone bells may be utilized for sounding an independent alarm in each and every room or apartment of the building. Y

A turt-herobject of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is automatic in its action and will cause each and every telephone in the building to sound an alarm after the device has once been set in operation, thereby leaving the telephone operator tree to perform other duties and relieving him ot' the burden of individually ringing the various telephones.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is comparatively simple and inexpensive in its construction, which can be readily intro duced in the usual telephone circuits. which can be instantly set in operation and then requires no further attention on the part of the operator, and which will not interfere with the use of the telephone in the usual manner.

l/Vit-h these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangea'cnts of the parts as will more fully appear as the description procoeds, thenovel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a. full understanding of the invention, reference isto be had to the following description and accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of an auto matic fire and burglar alarm constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the same on the line Q-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the devicepthe contact fingers being shown by full lines in the position normally assumed'when the regular telephone circuits are closed, and by dotted lines in the tion assumed when the telepho are broken and the ringing circuit in connection with the telephone l1. ing an alarm. Fig. i a detail per view of the rocking bars and contact Fig. is a transverse sectional view on ti line 5 5 oi? l ig. 1. Fig. 6 is an elevt. of the spring motor and one of disks upon the main. operating shai. actuating the rocking bars when the dot is in operation.

Corresponding and like parts are reier to in the following description and indica' in all the views of the drawings by the st; reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, the Immoral desi nates a suitable base upon which the mec ianisin is mounted. [in electro-magnet 2 is mounted upon one side at the base. the said magnet being connected to the terimiuils of a suitable circuit 3 and the circuit being provided with some conventional form or switch t by means of which the circuit can be closed and the magnetenergiaed at any time. When the magnet is energized it attracts an armature 5 upon an actuating lever (3, the end of the lever being pivoted at 7 upon a suitable bracket 8.

A suitable spring motor 9 which is adapted to be set in motion by the actuation of the lever 6 is provided for driving the main shaft 10 of the mechanism. This spring motor 9 may be of any suitable construc lion, and is shown in the present instance including a toothed governor wheel 11 which is provided with the resistance wings 152. (See Fine. 2 and (5). The teeth oi the governor wheel 11 are adapted to be engaged by deterit 13 which is carried by a spring arm 14, the said spring arm having the extremity thereof normally seatedin a notch 15 formed in the periphery of a disk 16 which is rigid with the end of the main shaft 1.0. The upper end of the spring arm ll is rigidly secured to a bracket 17 projecting from the frame of the spring motor 9 while the middle portion of the said spring arm is connected by a suitable link 18 to the before mentioned releasing lever 6. ll; will thus be obvious that, when the GlGQ'tl'O-Illttgllflh 2 is energized so as to attract the armature 5 and actuate the releasing lever 6 the spring arm 14 will be disengaged from the notch. 15 of the disk 16 and the detent l3 simultaneously withdrawn from engagement with BElsSUt.

stop the motor.

governor wheel 13,. ihe note Q w'll thus he set operation so as ,o carry the notch. away from the extremity or the suring arm 1% and the said spring arm i 1- will then ride upon the pcriphery or". the and withhold the detcnt from engagemeu' e 1 the teeth the i" J v oil the governor wheel 11 til t operatin' shaft 16 has complet volution and the notch 15 is aga'n brought into proper position to be en'ci spring 2], arm i i. "When the spring the notch 15 thus reti sition, the detect it? will be cc see c engage he teeth. of the arm r in enters iii).-

' bar 20 is adjustabiy mounted so as to be aised and lowered, the ends of the bar being shown as provided with clamping screws 24 which operate within slotted standards 25 projecting upwardly from the longitudinal strips 199 It will thus be obvious that the contact bar 20 may b properly adju ted to any desired elevation and then securely clamped in position by tightening the screws 24. A set of bolts or pins26 extend vertie cally through the contact bar 20, there being one of the bolts or pins provided for each telephone circuit,

The instrumentiilustrated upon the draw ings is designed to be employed where there are eight telephone circuits and eight inde pendent alarms to be sounded. The lower ends of the bolts or pins 26 are connected by conductors 2'? to corresponding terminal members 28 which are mounted upon the top of the adjacent terminal bar These terminal members 28 are shown in the form of metal strips which are factene-cl to the bar 22 by suitable members such as the screws 29, the extremities of the meta strips being extended upwardly so as to have the wires conveniently attached thereto. Similar and corresponding terminal members 30 are secured to the lower face of the said terminal bar the upper terminal members 28 being connected to the leads 31 of the main telephone circuits, while the lower terminal members 30 are connected to the opposite leads of the main telephone p ad," of the belts or pins 26 are dis is l by the extremities of contact fingers 03 which are shown as arranged r )5; one group seine governor whee so as to i mounted upon the rocking bar 34, while the opposte'group is mounted upon the r citing ba' These two rocking bars 3% and are arranged 111 almemcnt witi each other are shown as hinged at 36 to the before mentioned hinge bar 21. The rear ends the contact fingers are connected by the conductors 3'? to terminal members .secured to the top of the terminal bar 22 which is adjacent the hinge bar 1.. As in the previous instance, similar and corresporiding terminal members 39 are secured to the lower of the said terminal bar 22. The terii members 38 connected to the #11263 4.0 of the telephone circuit, while the terminals 39 are connected to the opposite wires of the telephone circuit, each pair of the main telephone wires 40 and 41 leading to the usual telephone instrument in one of the rooms of the building, and each set of main telephone wires 40 and 41 being normally in communication with the corresponding main telephone loads 31 and 32. The various pairs of these main telephone circuit wires as they are carried away from the terminal bars 22 pass through the openings 23 in the perforated bars 23. The inner ends of thehorresponding terminal members 30 and 39 which are secured to the lower faces oi the two terminal bars 22 are connected by the cross wires 40, the said cross wires being carried around one side of the mechanism so not to interfere with the contact fingers. The contact fingers 33 normally rest upon the upper ends of the bolts or pins 26 and all or the eight telephone circuits are. then closed so that the telephones can be used in the ordinary manner. In tracing followed to the terminal member 28, through the conductor 27 to the lower end of the bolt 26, through the contact fingers 33 to the concluctor 87 and terminal member 88to which the main telephone wire i0 is connected. The return circuit from the telephone may include the main wire ii which leads to the terminal member 39, the cross wire 40 which connects each terminal 39 to the correspond ing opposite terminal 30, which is in turn connected to the o posits main wire 32.

A second set 0' contact fingers 41, corresponding to the contact fingers 33 project from the lower sides of the rocking bars 34: and 35., the rear ends of the said contact fingers ii being connected by the conductors 4-2 to the terminal members The lo iver Face of the contact carrying bar 20 is provided with a longitudinally disposed contact strip 43 which occupiesv spaced and parallel relation with respect thereto, the ends of the contact stripbeing bent upwardly and secured to the bar 29, and the said strip be ing' connected by a wire 44 to one of the terminals 45 of the ringing circuit 6. The opposite termini- 5 or the ringing circuit the circuit from the main lead 31, it may befill one-soc is connected by a wire st? to a second contact strip 4-8 which is arranged above the contact carrying bar .20 and has a spaced and parallel relation thereto. This upper contact strip d8 is 'adjustably mounted so that it can be ruined and lowered as may he required, and for this purpose the ends of the strip are shown us engaged by clamping bolts l9 which operate within slotted standards 50 projecting from opposite ends oi." the con tuct carrying bar As indicated by full lines upon Fig; 3, the two rocking bars 34 and 35 normally assume such a position that the upper contact fingers 33 are moved downwardly into engagement with the up per ends of the bolts 26 and out of engagement with the upper contact strip 4-8, While the lower contact lingers ti occupy a. position. below and spaced from the lower contact strip As has been previously shown, all. of the main telephone circuits are then closed so that the telephone may be employed in the usual manner Without interference by the alarm mechanism. However, when the rocking bars 34 and are tilted so as to swing the contact lingers 33 upwardly into engagement with the upper contact strip 48 and simultaneously bring the lower contact fingers 4i. into engagement with the lower contact strip 4-3, the main telephonecircuits will be broken and the main telephone wires '40 and ll of each of the telephones introduced into the ringing circuit ll This result follows from the fact that the two wires 4 and 47 leading from the terminals of the ringing circuit are connected to the respective Contact strips 43 and 48, while the upper contact lingers which now engage disk 53 which is rigid with the main op erating shattl(). A spring :"i-lconnects the end of the arm 51. to the base 1 and normally tends to hold the shoe 5% in a yielding engagement with the notched disk 53. This notched disk 53 is formed with a flat side 53 and aseries of peripheral notches 53, the shoe 52 of the arm 51 normally resting upon the flat side 53 of the disk when they alarm mechanism is not in operation. In a somewhat similar manner the other rocking bar 35 is provided with a lateral. arm 55 which engages a lateral linger 56 projecting from the extremity of a lever 57 which is pivoted st 58 upon the frame of the spring motor 9, the said lateral finger 56 providing shoe which is adapted to engage the periphery of a second notched disk ()0 on the main operating shaft 10. provided with :1 fiat face lit) and a series of peripheral teeth (30", the linger 56 normally engaging the flat face when the device is not in operation.

it has been previously described that when the motor-9 is set in operation by energizing the electromagnet 2 and causing the releasing lever 6 to bc n'lanipuluted. the shaft '10 will be given one complete revolution before the motor is shut off. As the shaft revolves, the notched disks 53 and 0 will also revolve so as to cause the shoe 52 to successively ride upon the teeth 523 of the disk and drop into the recesses between the teeth, and in. a similar manner cause the linger 56 to successively ride upon the teeth 50 of the disk (30 and drop into the recesses between the teeth. This will operate through the lateral. arm 51 to swing the rocking bar 34 back and forth and through the him to swing the rocking bar back and forth, cnchback and forth swinging movement oi. the rocking liarsifil and 35 serving ashus been previously described to move the contact: lingers 33 and -11 inlo and out of engagement with the respective contact strips 48 and 43 so as to introduce all of the telephones into the ringing circuit and cause the bells thereof to be sounded. As the shalt 10 makes one com-' plete revolution each of the telephone bells will be sounded once for each of the teeth upon the disks 53 and ('30, and in the present instance each of these disks is shown as pro vicled with live teeth so that each of the telephone bells would be sounded five times. The teeth 53' of the disk 53 are arrangml ulternalely with respect to the teeth (30" of the disk 0 so that the two rocking burs -l-t and 35 will be operated successively, thereby only interrupting a port ion of the main tclephone circuits at one time. After the shaft 10 has completed its revolution so that the extremity of the spring arm 1-l has again entered the notch 15 of the disk 16 and the detent l3 engaged the governor wheel. .11 to stop the motor, the flat "faces 58 and 60 of the respective disks 53 and 30 will be in operative position so as to permit the upper contact lingers '33 of each. of the rocking bars 34 and to rest upon the upper ends of the bolts or pins 26 and closethe main telephone circuits. The telephones may then be again used without interruption, since the device is entirely automatic in its action and requires no attention whatever on the partof the telephone operator after the spring motor has once been released and set in mo tion.

it may be stated that the term telephone circuits as employed throughout the specification and claims has been used in a generic sense and is intended to include any bell or .slarm circuits of any character whatsoever This disk (30 l to which the present device might be ap plied. The invention has been illustrated, for the sake or" convenience, as applied to telephone circuits, although "it will be obvious that it can be interposed with equal facility into any hell or alarm circuits.

Having thus described the invention. what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1e 1. An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including rocking car, a pair or" spaced contact lingers carried by the rocking bar, a contact adapted to be engaged y one of the said fingers when the bar is rocked in one direction, the said contact linger and contact being interposed in one of the wires of the telephone circuit, connections between the opposite contact finger and the opposite Wire of the telephone circuit, a ringing circuit, contact bars con nected to the terminals of the ringing circuit and arranged to be engaged by the respective contact fingers when the rocking I bar is swung in the opposite direction, and means for causing the rocking bar to oscillate a predetermined number of times when set in motion.

2. An alarm attachment for t lephone circuits including a ringing circuit, anoperating shaft, a rocking bar, switch means actuated by the oscillations of the rocking bar for successively breaking the telephone circuit and introducing thetclephone into the ringing circuit, means actuated by the opcrating shaft for oscillating the rocking car, a motor for driving the operating shaft, and

means for automatically stopping the mo tor after a predetermined number of oscillations have been, imparted to the rocking to bar.

3. An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including contact ringers, contact strips adapted to beengagcd by the contact fingers when moved in one direction, a ringing circuit having the terminals thereof connected to the contact strips, a contact member adapted to be engaged by one of the contact fingers when the contact fingers are moved in the opposite direction, the

to said contact member and corresponding contact finger being introduced into one of the wires of the main telephone circuit, and means for reciprocating the contact fingers.

, 4. An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including a rocking o'ar, a pair of contact lingers carried by the rocking bar,

- -a contact adapted to he engaged by one of the said fingers when the bar is rocked in one direction, the said contact finger and so contact being interposed in one of the wires of the. telephone circuit, and connections between the opposite contact finger and the opposite Wire of the telephone circuit, a ringing circuit, and contact bars connected as to the terminals of the ringing circuit and arranged to be engaged by the respective contact lingers when the rocking bar is swung in the opposite direction,

An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including a rocking bar, a pair of corn tact fingers carried by the rocking bar, a contact adapted to be engaged by one of the fingers when the bar is rocked in one direction, a pair of terminal bars, a pair of terminal members applied to each of the ter- Ininal bars, one set of terminal members having the telephone Wires connected thereto, while the opposite set of terminal me1nbers have the telephone circuit wires connected thereto, a conductor connecting one 13 of the terminal members to the before men tioncd contact member, conductors connect ing each of the contact fingers with the re spective terminal members of the other terminal bar, a cross Wire connecting corre- 8 spending terminal members of the two ter-' minal bars, a ringing circuit. and contact strips connected to the terminals of the ringing circuit and arranged to be engaged by: the respective contact fingers when the roclring bar is swung in the opposite direction,

6. An alarm attachmentior telephone circuits including a plurality of telephone circuits, a rocking bar, a pair of contact fingers upon the rocking bar for each of the telephone circuits, a contact member for each pair of contact fingers, said contact members being adapted to be engaged by one of the fingers of each pair when the rocking bar is swung in one direction and the said contact members and fingers being interposed in one of the Wires of the hole phone circuits, connections between the opposite contact finger'of each pair and the opposite Wire of the corresponding telephone circuit, a ringing circuit, audcontact strips connected to the terminals of the ringing circuit and arranged to be engaged by the respective contact fingers or eachpair when the rocking bar is swung in the opposite direction. i

7. An alarm attachment for telephone circults including plurality telephone circuits, acontact carrying her, a contact thereon for each of. the telephone circuits, a rocking bar, a pair at fingers upon thc rocking bar foreach of the contacts, one of the fingers of each pair bcingnerinally in engagement with the 'saidcontact', a pair of terminal bars, two sets of terminal 120 members upon; eachterminal bar, the tor urinal members on one. har,-l1 aving the respective telephone Wireso-f the difiereni circuits connected. thereto, .yvhilerthe termi I nal mcmhcrsof'the oppositebair lztl i o the 25 main wires of the, telephone circuits con-- necte'd thereto, cross wireshetween oneset of corresponding terminal. members: upon the tcrminal'hars, conductors 'otweenthe oppositeterminal members of one terminal bar and the contacts of the contact bar, conductors between the contact fingers and the terminal members of the opposite terminal bar, a ringing circuit, and contact strips connected to the terminals of the ringing circuit and adapted to be engaged by .the respective contact fingers. when the rocking bar is moved to disengage the contact fingCIS from the before mentioned contacts.

8. An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including a rocking bar, a air of contact fingers carried by the roc ting bar, a contact adapted to be engaged by one of the fingers when the bar is rocked in one direction, the said contact finger and. contact bein r interposed in one of the wires of the telep lone circuit,'a connection between the opposite contact finger and the opposite wire ofthe telephone circuit, a ringing circuit, contact strips connected to the terminals of the ringing circuit and arranged to be engaged by the respective contact fingers when the rocking bar is swung in the opposite direction, a main shaft, means actuated by the rotation of the main shaft for swinging the rocking bar back and forth, and means for driving the main shaft.

9. An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including a rocking bar, a pair of contact fingers carried by the rocking bar, a contact adapted'to be engaged by one of the fingers when the bar is rocked in one direction, the said contact finger and contact being interposed in one of the wires of the telephone circuit, connections between the opposite contact finger and the opposite wire of the telephone circuit, a ringing circuit, contact strips connected to the terminals of the ringing circuit and arranged to be engaged by the respective contact fingers when the rocking bar is swung in one direction, an operating shaft, a toothed disk upon the operating shaft, a shoe riding upon the periphery of the toothed disk, means actuated by the shoe for operating the rocking bar, and means for driving the shaft.

10. An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including a rocking bar, a pair of contact fingers carried by the rocking bar, acontact adapted to be engaged by one of the fingers when the bar is rocked in one direction, the said contact finger and contact h ing interposed in one of the wires of the te eph'one circuit, connections between the opposite contact finger and the opposite wlre of the telephone circuit, a ringing circuit, contact strips connected to the terminals of the ringing circuit and arranged to be engaged by the respective contact fingers when the rocking bar is swung in the opposite direction, an operating shaft, a disk rigid with the operating shaft and provided with a lurality of cam faces, a shoe adapted to ri e upon the cam faces of the disk, means actuated by the shoe for operating the rocking bar, a motor for rotating the operating shaft, and means for releasing the motor.

11. An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including a ringing circuit, an op erating shaft, a rocking bar, switch means actuated by the rocking bar for breaking the telephone circuit and introducing the telephone into the ringing circuit, means actuated by the operating shaft for actuating the rocking bar, a motor for driving the operating shaft, means for releasing the motor, and'means for automatically stopping the moto after the alarm has been sounded.

12. An alarm attachment for telephone circuits including a ringing circuit, a rocking bar, switch means actuated by the rocking bar for breaking the telephone circuit and introducing the telephone into the ring ing circuit, an operating shaft, means operated by the said shaft for actuating the rocking bar, a motor for driving the shaft, said motor. including a tootned governor wheel, a detent adapted to engage the governor wheel, a notched disk upon the operating shaft, a spring arm engaging the notched disk and carrying the detent, the detent engaging the governor wheel when the end of the spring strip is seated within the notch of the disk, and means for withdrawing the spring arm from the notched disk to start the motor, the said spring arm then riding upon the periphery of the disk until the notch is again brought into position to be entered thereby.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS A. MEYERS.

Witnesses CARY DIEI-IL, W. H. VANGAMP. 

